Baltimore Police Open Probe After Video Purportedly Shows Officer Planting Drugs

Police in Baltimore have opened an investigation after video released by a public defender appeared to show a police officer planting drugs at a crime scene. The minute-long video, released by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender on Wednesday, showed an officer place a plastic bag in a yard while two other officers watched. The officer is then shown returning to the yard to pick up the bag, which contained capsules of heroin. The suspect was arrested after the officer’s find but charges were dropped after the video was released. Officials from the Baltimore Police Department said one officer in the video has been suspended, while two others were placed on administrative duty pending an investigation. The department showed other videos filmed the same day that it said raises the possibility the officer had in fact discovered drugs at the scene but had chosen to recreate the find for the camera.